STORY BEHIND VIRAL OBITUARY THAT LEFT KENYANS SCRATCHING THEIR HEADS

“Mueni has now been united with her beloved father, Anthony, and her partner in crime, Peter, and they can now get up to their typical mischief,” Ms Elizabeth Ngotho’s obituary read in part.

At the time, no one had the foggiest idea that the obituary, reportedly authored by Mueni’s last born sibling, would pop the lid on a family feud, fueled in the last two decades by fight over a multi-million family estate.

Mueni was buried at her family home in Machakos on Saturday, days after the obituary went viral.

According to the Daily Nation, her funeral, which was attended by curious strangers and a handful of family members, was sombre, and quiet, like all funerals, but unlike most, was over as soon as it began.

Save for the printed eulogy, the speeches were short, with a lone family member only rising briefly, to thank those in attendance for their support.

“We are not sure if the departed will go to heaven, but let us pray for her soul,” the priest was quoted as saying.

When all was said and done, the family retreated to the graveyard, where Mueni was interred beside beside her late dad and her brother Peter.

Who was Mueni?
Mueni who died at 46, having battled an undisclosed illness for years, was a high flying hotelier, with stints at the Panafric and Sarova Hotels.

She was educated in the best schools, notably, the Hillcrest secondary school, the University of Manchester- where she studied architecture- and the Les Roches International School of Hotel Management in Switzerland.

She would also enroll at the Le Cordon Bleau Culinary School in London before joining the Universities of Prince Edward Island, and the University of Sydney in Canada and Australia respectively.

Controversial Eulogy
The Daily Nation reported that the controversial obituary, that flew in the face of ‘speaking ill of the dead, had been authored by Mueni’s last born brother.